If fate favors Inarizaki, then that would be wonderful. If it does not, they have their own way of playing.
It is nothing more than.. relying on themselves to turn the tide.
The coin fell within his field of vision, revealing the final result with a sharp clatter.
Heads.
Inarizaki served first.
Miya Atsumu pumped his fist and cheered, "Beautiful!"
Having secured the initial service right, as long as he could gain an advantage in the opening, everything else would be easy.
Having come to terms with his own bad luck, Miya Atsumu reached out and patted Miya Osamu's back. "Very good, our great Captain has now decided to entrust this solemn and sacred task of drawing lots to you, Vice-Captain."
After saying that, before Miya Osamu could even react, Miya Atsumu had already bolted away, heading to find the Coach to fill out the rotation schedule for the deciding set.
Miya Osamu clicked his tongue lightly, but he didn't say anything else.
Hoshiumi rubbed his chin. "Inarizaki is serving first.."
Asahina held a pen in her hand and said with great certainty, "Inarizaki's rotation won't change much; it'll most likely still be S1. Miya Osamu and Suna have rested for an entire set, so the deciding set will definitely be played at full strength."
However.. speaking of adjustments, it's the same for us; overall, there won't be much of a difference.
He had even sat out for a set and a half, so there would certainly be no problem finishing the final 15-point deciding set in peak condition.
Hoshiumi also placed complete trust in Asahina: "I'll follow your plan."
Right now, his brain truly couldn't function at all; leaving such mentally taxing planning to the Setter was definitely the right choice.
Asahina smiled. "There's no need to change anything. Hinata-senpai's current condition is no longer at its peak, so it's impossible for him to maintain that high-frequency rhythm of jumping and sprinting. Just follow Inarizaki's original plan and let Hirugami-senpai directly suppress Hinata-senpai."
Inarizaki's original plan was to have Hinata directly confront Hirugami, but Hirugami, who only plays half the court, is currently in a state that is bound to be a thousand times superior to Hinata's.
So.. the tables have turned.
It's okay, leave it to me.
Hinata looked up at the worried-looking Miya Atsumu: "No matter who it is, I'm going to win."
Miya Atsumu had expected this answer, so he simply nodded slightly and filled out the rotation sheet exactly as it was.
As Miya Atsumu handed the form over to the Coach, he suddenly felt someone gently reach out and tug at the hem of his shirt.
He turned his head; it was Hinata, who was sitting at the Coach's bench looking up at him.
Everything was ready, Miya Atsumu, whose mindset was approaching a state of calm, looked down at him: "What's wrong?"
Hinata grabbed Miya Atsumu's shirt, making him lean down closer.
He reached out toward Miya Atsumu, but said nothing.
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment, before finally understanding Hinata's intent and moving closer to him, giving him a gentle hug.
His voice was incredibly gentle: "It's the last one, just hang in there a little longer."
Hinata's muffled voice followed immediately: "Yeah, same to you, Atsumu-ge."
Miya Atsumu straightened his back, clapped his hands, said loudly, "Alright, let's get ready to crush those stinking seagulls from Nagano!"
Unabara Uta, having been given the chance to take the court, responded loudly, "Yes!"
I don't know what the final result of Maho's match will be, but.. they will win!
Standing in Position 4 in the front row, Hinata slightly bent his waist, resting both hands on his knees as he watched the Karasuno players across from him.
It was Hirugami-senpai in Position 4 for the opening, just as Atsumu-senpai had said—he wanted to match up against him and suppress him throughout the entire match.
But he wasn't afraid; after all, Inarizaki didn't have only him as a Spiker. As long as he could withstand the pressure, Osamu-senpai and Suna-senpai could play with ease, even Ginjima-senpai in the back row could produce sufficient results.
Moreover, looking at this matchup, Karasuno's adjustment would actually cause Hakuma-senpai to face Yukihito for an extended period.
Yukihito's adaptability to touches from two-meter players was already very high, allowing him to completely control Hakuma-senpai. Overall, Inarizaki still held the advantage in this situation.
Hinata closed his eyes.
Of course, all of this depends on him, the Ace, being able to withstand the pressure.
Once he encounters a problem here, it will inevitably affect the others, even leading to the collapse of Inarizaki's front line.
Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Hinata opened his eyes, his vision slowly focused on Asahina on the opposite side.
The opponent was looking at him with an expression that seemed friendly, but was actually full of calculation.
It doesn't matter.
Being targeted is the fate of an Ace; as long as he can hold his ground, it will be Inarizaki's victory.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled for Miya Atsumu to serve.
The volleyball in Miya Atsumu's hands danced with his movement as he raised his hand, becoming like a part of his body.
Before Takahashi could even catch his breath, in the second of the service time limit, Miya Atsumu suddenly tossed the ball forward while simultaneously taking his approach run.
Unlike every previous time, this time Miya Atsumu chose a flat toss.
A type of toss that synchronizes the server's body movement with the ball, thereby increasing spike accuracy.
This serve.. where is he planning to hit it?
Takahashi's brain raced, the moment he reached a possible answer, the volleyball had already crossed the net at extreme speed, smashing down toward him.
His body moved faster than his brain; Takahashi had already taken a step to the side, lowering his center of gravity and reaching out his hand to receive the ball.
The ball hit his arm; because his reaction wasn't timely enough, the ball didn't land on his forearm, but rather closer to his elbow.
The next second, the volleyball bounced upward, hitting him directly on his chin and flying off to the side, grazing his face.
Both of those impacts were very clear, but Hoshiumi still dove forward, reaching out to dig the ball.
In the case of a first receive, consecutive touches during the same movement do not count as a double hit, so his touch this time was actually a double touch.
“Yukihito!” Hoshiumi shouted, calling out Hirugami's name.
As Hirugami stepped forward to prepare for a challenge, Hoshiumi's gaze swept over Miya Atsumu, who was moving forward after finishing his spike.
To be able to hit a ball with that much weight and spin at a time like this.. As expected of the number one server in high school.
Hinata had also pulled enough distance to prepare for his approach jump to contest the ball.
He knew his opponent was Hirugami, when it came to contesting the ball.. he had no advantage whatsoever.
But he also had to fight for it; he could not give Karasuno even the slightest opportunity to complete a counterattack.
The moment Hirugami jumped, Hinata, whose movements were even faster than his, had already completed his jump, extending his body with one hand to reach for the ball.
He didn't need to jump higher than his opponent; even just touching the ball from below was enough.
Under Hirugami's shocked gaze, Hinata's fingertips lightly touched the bottom half of the volleyball.
Watching the ball being tipped over the block and falling toward the Karasuno court, Hinata couldn't help but laugh.
This kind of finger dump.. he used it all the time when he played beach volleyball!
Hoshiumi, who hadn't even managed to get up yet, threw himself back down onto the ground and somehow managed to save the ball.
As Hinata landed, he frowned slightly, while simultaneously stepping back to create distance for a block.
Hikari-kun likely won't be able to get up, so Karasuno's only offensive options will be Hirugami-senpai in the front row and Hakuma-senpai in the back row.
Asahina's set was extremely fast; the moment she touched the ball, she sent it toward Hirugami, who was jumping near Position 2 for Karasuno.
Hinata and Suna rushed over at the same time, both of them jumping together to block in front of Hirugami.
The initial height of this ball was insufficient, Asahina didn't have the ability to provide a higher set, so this ball was still within the blocking range of Suna and the others.
But this time, Hirugami was not planning to rely on technical trickery.
Hirugami's gaze locked onto Hinata as he decisively spiked the ball.
Hinata had tensed his body as much as possible, but the force of Hirugami's spike was still beyond his control.
Coupled with the fact that his form wasn't at its best, the ball smashed straight between his arms, throwing his entire center of gravity off balance.
Hinata's body slammed heavily onto the ground, after his vision went dark for a moment, he looked up and met Hirugami's smile.
The whistle had already blown; Hirugami had scored with a spike.
Hirugami Yukio's voice sounded in Hinata's ear, steady in emotion and carrying a hint of a smile.
If we're talking about playing at one's best, a Middle Blocker who only plays half the sets is definitely better.
Isn't it?
Chapter 373: The 373th Fox
Hinata breathed heavily; the impact of his recent fall made his vision swim, making his already unsteady state even worse.
If anything, it felt as though the breath he had been holding all this time had been suddenly scattered by Hirugami-senpai.
He knew that Hirugami-senpai was right.
Hirugami-senpai's physical abilities and fundamentals are far superior to his, this gap in stamina between playing half-court and full-court becomes even more pronounced in a best of five match.
So..
After that style of play that extremely pursued speed and height, it probably can't be used at such a high-intensity level anymore.
Before stepping onto the court, he had told Atsumu-ge that no matter who it was, they would win, but as a result, he played so clumsily during their very first encounter.
Seeing Hinata staring blankly at him, Hirugami, who had just been making bold claims, frowned slightly and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Even though he had used a lot of force just now, he remembered that he had hit the arms, not the head, so why did Hinata look like he had been stunned?
Hinata snapped back to his senses, shook his head slightly, then took Suna's outstretched hand to slowly stand up.
He said righteously, "It's fine, I'm just being lazy."
Hirugami Yukihito laughed, then said in a changing tone, "That's great then. If you leave without our permission before we've had our fill of fun.. Hikari-kun will be unhappy."
His voice sounded relaxed, but what he said was pure provocation.
Miya Atsumu threw an arm around Hinata's shoulder, looking up over the net at Hirugami: "What's the matter? Are you already relying on trash talk to win because you can't keep up?"